while deep moats capture waves
from incoming tides, leaving flotsam jetsam
wreaths floating around their construction
eventually sinking between sand particle pores;
children squeal as the water laps at their ankles
& courageously attempt to protect their
grainy bastion decorated with gull feathers
seashells, driftwood & moss; saltwater assaults
surging up and down the coastline displace
their stronghold leaving nothing in its wake,
leveling the beach palace ten small hands & five
sunburnt bodies labored all day to erect—marveling
how the ocean swiftly swallowed their citadel.